Ald. Derrick Curtis’ daughter was accidentally shot in the leg last week during a concealed carry class Curtis was teaching at a church in Ashburn, months after the 18th Ward alderperson accidentally shot himself.
Curtis was conducting the class Jan. 5 at Monument of Faith Church, 2750 W. Columbus, with his daughter and son in attendance, according to a Chicago police source. Someone handed Curtis’ daughter a Glock 19 and the weapon went off.
The 25-year-old was struck in the leg and taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in good condition, police said. The shooting was classified as accidental.
The woman initially told investigators that her father had been handling the Glock 19 when it went off, the source said. Her brother said he was handling it, too. It appears the son was actually handing off the gun to his sister when it discharged, the source said.
It’s the second time a member of the Curtis family has suffered an accidental gunshot wound. Last fall, Curtis shot himself in the wrist as he was cleaning a gun in the 8200 block of South Christiana Avenue.
He said the accident that required him to undergo minor hand surgery happened while he was helping a neighbor with a firearm that had been “malfunctioning at the gun range.”
In an interview this week with the Sun-Times, Curtis said the incident made him rethink his support for Mayor Lori Lightfoot, as she failed to reach out to him after the accidental shooting.
Curtis has spoken out strongly against the flow of illegal guns into Chicago.
